The
American Bulldog is a very close breed to the
English Bulldog, which is more commonly just called the bulldog. An English Bulldog is the kind that has a huge,
wrinkled head with an enormously large
jaw and big
teeth, and a body that looks too small compared to its head. The English breed of Bulldogs are so exaggerated and misshapen that they are no longer capable of being a working dog. But an American Bulldog has
distinct differences, such as how they act. An American Bulldog is larger and more in
proportion to itself than the English breed,
etc.
Bulldogs in general were originally used to control farm animals, which were dangerous, especially bulls. Bulldogs were also used for the "sport" of bullbaiting, where it was not uncommon if the dog was killed in the process. So, bulldogs started out as catchdogs. They were bred for determination, courage, stamina, strength, speed, agility, gameness, and defiantly not looks. They were expected to be able to pull down a bull, and hold it
down until the bull could be brought under control.
It was not made too clear how the American Bulldog was developed from
the English Bulldog in the resources that I have. Other than English Bulldogs being brought into the United States to make guard dogs for the new settlers, and to provide an emergency way to stop farm animals from killing people, my resources don't even mention it. My opinion is that after the Bulldogs were brought into America, they gradually evolved into what they are today. The American Bulldog was not recognized as an official breed until just recently.
American Bulldogs are defiantly bred for looks much more today than
earlier. They are show dogs, with a surprising amount of rules and requirements for how they must look and act in order to participate. There are two categories that the dog can be classified into. The first type is the Johnson type, which is generally larger, with an undershot jaw. The other is the Scott-type, which is slightly smaller, with an even jaw. Most dogs are hybrids, which is not considered a bad thing in most cases.
One thing that is very common in American Bulldogs is CHD, or Canine
Hip Dysplasia. It is a very serious problem. The reason it is so common now is because past breeders did not have their dogs X-rayed, so did not know which dogs had it and which didn't. Sometimes, due to the amazing amount of strength and muscle an American Bulldog has, those muscles are able to hold their hips together. That makes it almost impossible to tell weather or not a dog has it by just looking. It is best to have your Bulldog checked for it before it gets
too far along, especially if you are planning on breeding it.